The Premier Lacrosse League and Major League Lacrosse are merging. The result is the new Premier Lacrosse League, the league announced on Wednesday. Both leagues were force to disrupt their season schedules in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. After the disruptions, it became clear that a merger would benefit both sides.
"When we got back to the table for conversations this offseason, it just felt more likely that a merger could get done," PLL founder Paul Rabil said on Wednesday. "I think overall for lacrosse, unifying this could be akin to basketball and football, historically."
Because of the merger, the PLL announced is expanding to house the Boston Cannons as a club. The Cannons, which were previously a team in the MLL, will now be known as Cannons Lacrosse Club and participate in an expansion draft.
In addition, the PLL will own the rights to all of the former MLL teams if the league has a desire to include more expansion teams in the future.
"That has always been the most important thing for me, that we get the best product on the field," Rabil added regarding the state of the league. "I think it's critical. When people watch pro sports, they want to know they're watching the best in the world. To be able to definitively say that ... is a really positive outcome of this."
The PLL only has one season under its belt due to the coronavirus pandemic.
